Abstract: Background: Autism prevalence is rising, leading to increased initiatives and research, yet autistic individuals are not always included. The Philadelphia Autism Project was developed by people with lived experience, community input and multi-system stakeholders. Objectives: To examine the development, key partnerships, lessons learned and impact of a citywide autism project using an ecological framework and community-academic approach. Methods: The Philadelphia Autism Project was developed using a community-academic partnership approach, engaging autistic individuals, families, and multi-system stakeholders. An ecological framework guided the analysis of stakeholder roles, governance structures, and sustainability efforts to assess the project’s implementation and impact. Lessons Learned: Four key lessons emerged: (1) mobilize diverse champions, (2) plan for sustainability, (3) dedicate time to foster trust, and (4) ensure collaborative governance and power sharing. Conclusions: The Philadelphia Autism Project model fostered meaningful collaborations to support autistic individuals from an ecological framework and offers an approach for replication.
Wong et al. (Mon,) studied this question.